Son of former Ranji player Arvind Pujara, Cheteshwar is one of India's most consistent and prolific run scorers in the domestic circuit and is also highly regarded as India's replacement for...Full profile

Son of former Ranji player Arvind Pujara, Cheteshwar is one of India's most consistent and prolific run scorers in the domestic circuit and is also highly regarded as India's replacement for Rahul Dravid at that all important No. 3 spot in Tests. A right-handed batsman with a solid, almost old fashioned technique, Pujara comes across as a welcome change among India's young brigade where glory in the shorter formats and fame in club-level leagues is slowly taking over from the era where Ranji trophy and other first class tournaments were held supreme. He has an excellent role model too; Pujara has shaped his batting watching the legendary Rahul Dravid and exhibits some of those features in the domestic circuit as well.

Pujara's thirst for big runs started at an early level; he made a triple ton against Baroda in the Under 14 level, a double century against England at Under 19, and a 145 for Saurashtra in just his second first class game. He was one of the top run scorers in the 2007-08 Ranji season and in the next season, scored a couple of triple hundreds for Saurashtra under 22. His excellent form continued in the next couple of seasons and he made one more triple century against Orissa in a 2008-09 Ranji match.

Pujara is not just a uni-dimensional cricketer as he has proved his worth in the limited overs versions too. In the 2006 Under 19 World Cup, he was the highest run-getter with 346 runs at a stunning average of 116. He signed a contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in 2008, and moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2011 season.

He got the national call-up when Australia visited India in 2010 for a 2-match Test series and he immediately made a mark. Replacing his idol Rahul Dravid at the number 3 slot, Pujara made a confident, match winning 72 in a tricky last day run chase against Australia at Bangalore in 2010. During the knock, he became the fifth Indian to score a half century in the fourth innings on debut. Pujara was picked for the South Africa tour but couldn't do much on the bouncy tracks there. He faced a big hurdle after that as he injured his knee once again during the 2011 IPL and was out of action for more than 6 months, ruling him out of the tour of Australia.

However, he made a comeback in the season that followed and has not looked back ever since. He went to make an unbeaten-206, his highest score in Tests, against England in 2012 at the Ahmedabad Test. He followed it up with a 135 in the next Test at Mumbai, fighting a lone battle when the other Indian batsmen succumbed to quality English bowling. Pujara was picked for the ODIs against England in 2012 but did not get a game.

After that, it was time for Australia to tour India for a 4-match Test series and the Saurashtrian was itching to get out on the cricket field. The Chennai Test wan't all that great for him. But the second one in Hyderabad, where he loves making centuries, he made Australia toil long and hard in the field. He made his second double century of his career and won the Man of the Match award after his match-winning knock helped India go up 2-0.

His remarkable Test form earned him his ODI cap in August 2013. He played 2 matches against Zimbabwe but failed to make mark in the shorter format of the game.

Pujara slammed his 5th Test ton against West Indies in the second Test at Mumbai. He also forged an important 100+ partnership for the third wicket along with Tendulkar and helped India post a massive total after loss of early wickets.

With the action shifting to South Africa for a 2-Test series, Pujara continued his good run and scored a well compiled 153 in the second innings of the first Test at Johannesburg before following it up with a fifty in the next at Durban. However, he couldn't replicate the same form on the tour to New Zealand and failed to make an impression both at Auckland and Wellington. He then returned to the domestic arena as he was not a regular part of India's limited overs squads.

Pujara's style and his ability to play long has confided him to be just a long-format player for India. His inability to constantly rotate strike and his slow scoring rate were cited as factors in limiting his short-form career to just five One Day Internationals (ODIs). The above mentioned reason also meant that he had very short stints with various franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Long regarded as Rahul Dravid's successor at three, a slump in form during India's arduous and rather disappointing tours of England and Australia in 2014 saw Pujara lose his place in the national set-up. Many could have been cowed down by the double failures, but Pujara made most of an injury set-back to Murali Vijay, storming back into contention after carrying his bat through during his epic unbeaten 145 against Sri Lanka at the SSC, Colombo.

Pujara hasn't looked back since then, plundering runs at will during India's 13-Test home series in 2016-17. He then followed it up with back-to-back hundreds as India completed yet another facile series win in Sri Lanka. The confidence is back and the Indian number three is perhaps entering his best years of batting. At 29, he's matured enough and will be the vital cog ahead of India's tough overseas tours coming up.